Email from Chihiros Stating They Are Closing Down the Online Shop

[gnatster]

Received this email this morning, 9/2/2026

----
Dear Customer,

After several years of serving aquarium hobbyists around the world, ChihirosAquaticStudio.com will officially close on September 6, 2026.

Before we close, we’re offering one final storewide promotion.

FINAL CLOSING SALE — 30% OFF

Use code:

FINAL30

at checkout to receive 30% off your order.

This is the final opportunity to shop at ChihirosAquaticStudio.com before the store closes. Stock is limited, and some products may sell out before the final day.

Store closes September 6, 2026.

Thank you for your support over the years and for being part of our journey.

----

This brings up a lot of questions.

Is it just the site ChihirosAquaticStudio.com that's closing?

What about Chihiros.com? Is that going away as well?

What about support, warranty, ongoing app updates, etc?

 

[JayP]

I got that too. I assume they just mean the online store and not the company/brand as a whole, because that would be quite a shock.

 

[Pepere]

Since the lights require an APP towork, the only major bummer for me would be if the appstopped working.

Ihave 2 Chihiros wrgb lights…

Pretty much .I have been buying Week Aqua lights for new purchases..

It sure does beg the question of what happens toapp operated lights if a seller closes shop…

Its one thing if a light fails after years of service and you just move on and buy a new light.

It would be quite another thing if one morning you can no longer access light settings on a light because a company shut down…

 

[FreshTides_Neal]

One of the wholesalers I use recently started carrying their lights, so I'm sure they're switching their business model and not closing down as a company.

 

[Beza]

I had a quick look after seeing this thread, Chihiros.com does not show any signs of closing and actually offers products as well. Maybe they shifted their sales operation?

 

[Kwyet]

The Chihiros Aquatic Studio website doesn’t mention it either, but products are considerably discounted, and the FINAL30 code works as well.

 

[JayP]

I'm assuming, especially with what @FreshTides_Neal mentioned, it's just a reorganization of their sales distribution structure. I took advantage and picked up a few of the remaining items they have left, but I really wish I needed some lights as that's mostly what they have left, including the high-end models.

 

[Kwyet]

I bought a magnetic stirrer—$88 including shipping. It says taxes and duties will be added by the courier, so I’m taking a chance that it will still be a good deal. Seems like it should be.

 

[JayP]

I bought a magnetic stirrer—$88 including shipping. It says taxes and duties will be added by the courier, so I’m taking a chance that it will still be a good deal. Seems like it should be.

I had another stirrer in my cart but they went out of stock before I checked out. It was you!!!!

Shipping cost always cuts into their deals unless you're buying over $200 worth.

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

I had a quick look after seeing this thread, Chihiros.com does not show any signs of closing and actually offers products as well. Maybe they shifted their sales operation?

is that web domain actually owned by chihiros or is chihiros.com just someone using the name to drop ship?

 

[Capraquaria]

So many questions! I did mention in a comment to someone else's post the other day that I was concerned with how many Chihiros products had been DC'd just since I reentered the hobby last year. That email sounds very final. Of course, I dropped by their BBS to see if there was any info. @JayP is this you? Hope this is just a redistribution effort. If my Vivid's do turn into paperweights I will not be amused

 

[Capraquaria]

If Google AI is correct, they are just shutting down their direct to consumer side of the business. See synopsis here.

 

[JayP]

So many questions! I did mention in a comment to someone else's post the other day that I was concerned with how many Chihiros products had been DC'd just since I reentered the hobby last year. That email sounds very final. Of course, I dropped by their BBS to see if there was any info. @JayP is this you? Hope this is just a redistribution effort. If my Vivid's do turn into paperweights I will not be amused

View attachment 19868

Yep, that's me. That used to be my username here.

 

[ElleDee]

If Google AI is correct, they are just shutting down their direct to consumer side of the business. See synopsis here.

If you look at the links that the synopsis cites, it's just a bunch of social media/reddit threads that read exactly like this one, with hobbyists supposing and hoping that it's just a retail closure, but no one really has any insider perspective. There's no novel source of information that actually provides any clarity.

 

[JayP]

If you look at the links that the synopsis cites, it's just a bunch of social media/reddit threads that read exactly like this one, with hobbyists supposing and hoping that it's just a retail closure, but no one really has any insider perspective. There's no novel source of information that actually provides any clarity.

That's why I posted in their website forum and also sent them a direct message, but it's off hours there so no answers for awhile.

 

[JayP]

is that web domain actually owned by chihiros or is chihiros.com just someone using the name to drop ship?

Out of curiousity, I tried the same discount code on Chihiros.com and it was rejected.

 

[gnatster]

is that web domain actually owned by chihiros or is chihiros.com just someone using the name to drop ship?

That got my spidey sense all tingly.

The Chirhios.com site lists a street address in its FAQ: 70 Washington Square South, NY, NY 10012. That's also the location of the NYU Library.

Phone: +1 2345 678 910 / +1 2345 678 109

WHOIS doesn't give us much; it was registered in 2014 and is set to expire this year, but that means little. The registrar is a generic domain hosting company based in the US.

 

[Capraquaria]

If you look at the links that the synopsis cites, it's just a bunch of social media/reddit threads that read exactly like this one, with hobbyists supposing and hoping that it's just a retail closure, but no one really has any insider perspective. There's no novel source of information that actually provides any clarity.

I agree. I didn't have time to look through the source links until later this afternoon. That's why I said 'if', as AI reponses are pretty notorious for being anything but factual. Hopefully there will be more actual information soon. 4 days notice in the original email seems very short.

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

Someone got some Chihiros leds to work with home assisstant so at least chihiros users aren't totally screwed if the app goes down permanently I guess

 

[JayP]

Someone got some Chihiros leds to work with home assisstant so at least chihiros users aren't totally screwed if the app goes down permanently I guess

This is something I've been thinking of setting up to manage all my Chihiros devices.